Good reasons to tolerate lower paid work as a consultant in the Big Four

If you are an investment banker, the Big Four accountancy firms are usually seen as another land. And that land is not usually seen as particularly inviting.

However, while investment banking recruitment seems to be faltering, recruitment by the Big Four does not. Recruitment by the Big Four is going through the roof. Ernst & Young wants to hire 1,250 people across the UK; KPMG wants to hire 3,000 across the UK and 5,000 across Europe over the next three years; and Deloitte plans to bring on a mere 55,000 people globally by 2015.

In the circumstances, therefore, maybe working for the Big Four isn't such a bad idea. Much of the recruitment is in their consulting arms. Here's why you should give them a whirl.

1) They REALLY want you

The Financial Times points out that all this consultant hiring is being spurred by, 'financial and manufacturing companies seeking advice on how to restructure their businesses and cut costs as well as adapt to the dozens of regulatory changes introduced as a result of the financial crisis.'

As such, anyone who knows about financial services, regulatory changes, and cost cutting is sought after. This applies equally to ex-corporate financiers and traders. Because so few financial services people want to move to the Big Four, anyone who does will be made most welcome.

2) You will get to see the world, or Bournemouth

Consulting jobs are good for people who don't like spending time at home.

Instead, you will spend much of your time 'on the road.'

"If you're a consultant, you'll spend Monday to Friday working at client sites," says Rakesh Pabbi, a former consultant at PWC and KPMG who now runs the recruiting firm Consulting Point. "A lot of banks have operations outside London in Bournemouth, Glasgow, India, or Birmingham," he adds. "It's a good life if you want to travel."

3) You will never earn enough money to retire, but you will earn more money than most people

Unless you get to be a director or partner, you won't be staggeringly rich. However, nor will you be staggeringly poor.

Pabbi says pay scales in the Big Four are as follows:

First year analyst (recent graduate): 28k

Consultant: 35k

Senior consultant: 42-60k

Manager: 50-80k

Senior manager: 80-110k

Director: 110k-180k

Partner: 180k+

It usually takes two to three years to move between grades. In addition to the salaries above, you'll get a bonus. Below director levels, bonuses are usually up to 20%. Directors' bonuses are usually 40-50%. Partners' bonuses are usually 50-100%.

4) When not in Bournemouth you will be able to lie on the sofa, and still get paid

In the consulting world, there is a term for this: it is known as being 'on the bench.'

'On the bench' means you are between consulting assignments, but still getting paid by the firm you work for. Pabbi says he was once on the bench for a full three months, but that two to three weeks a year is normal.

5) You may be able to use your time as a consultant as a springboard into front office investment banking

Pabbi says he's got a friend who was working for a small bank in the middle office, left to work as a consultant in the Big Four, advised lots of investment banks, and then left to work in a more 'front office strategy role' in a large hedge fund.

"When you're working as a consultant you meet a lot of senior front office bankers. It's not unusual for them to ask you to join them," he says.

6) It's like a big happy family

Joseph Williams, who recruits consultants at EM Financial, says people like to join the Big Four because the consulting teams are "fairly small and niche."

"They have a collegiate structure and feel to them, but they're backed by a business superpower," he asserts.